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The Royal Navy
In 1707, under the Acts of Union (the joining of Scotland and Britain, creating the Kingdom of Great Britain), the Royal Navy was officially born. For the next one hundred straight years, the Royal Navy would be the largest and most powerful in the world, until 1805, when its forces were either even or out-gunned by a combination of foes. Despite its eventual downfall, the Royal Navy still exceeded the rest of the world in financing, tactics, training, organization, social cohesion, hygiene, dockyard facilities, logistical support, and (starting in the middle of the eighteenth century) warship construction and design. 'Yet, with all of these advancements, the Royal Navy was unable to pull through when it was needed most in the Revolutionary War: the Battle of Yorktown. ' Pre-Royal Navy 10th century-15th century Dating back all the way to even the 10th century, the strength of the navy was an important part of the Kingdom of England (Rodger, Safeguard, ''pp. 18-30). At some time Aethelred II, a former king, had an exceptionally large fleet built for himself by a national levy of 310 “hides” of land for a single ship, though it is unknown if this was a normal or exceptional model for building fleets. Thenduring the Danish period of rule in the 11th century the authorities maintained a standing fleet through taxation, and this was continued for a while under the newly restored English control of Edward the Confessor, who reigned from 1042-1066 (Wikipedia, ''The Royal Navy). Fast forwarding to the 14th century, the English navy was haphazard at best, as it no longer held a standing fleet (Rodger, Safeguard, ''pp 35-49). However, the navy still managed to become the dominant naval power during the Hundred Years War, specifically at the English victory of the Battle of Sluys (Rodger, ''Safeguard, ''pp. 93-9). (Despite the crushing blow to the French navy, the southern border of Britain was constantly raided.) 16th century-17th century. By now the “Navy Royal” had its own dockyards, secretariat, and permanent core of “purpose-built” warships, originally created by Henry VIII. Under Elizabeth I, the navy saw highly successful raids against Spanish colonies and trade ships in its war with Spain. Then the navy “won” its first major victory: in 1588, Philip II of Spain sent the Spanish Armada against England to end its support for Dutch rebels, to stop English corsair activities and to depose Elizabeth I and restore Catholicism to all of England (Rodger, ''Safeguard, ''pp. 253-71). Sailing from Lisbon, the fleet was defeated in the English straight thanks to the English navy’s guerilla style attacks and large storms. The Spanish were driven back, despite having the largest invasion force the world had ever seen. Then during the early years of the 17th century, England’s general naval power deteriorated, as there were increasing amounts of raids by Barbary corsairs on ships and coastal communities (to capture people as slaves, which the navy had few victories in countering said attempts.) Thus, Charles I began a massive endeavor of warship production, creating a small force of ships. However, his dramatic methods or fund-raising to fund and build the fleet helped fan the flames of the English Civil War (Rodger, ''Safeguard, ''pp. 379-94). After the conflict was over and the abolition of the monarchy was complete, the new Commonwealth of England, alone and threatened from all sides, also largely expanded the Navy, which eventually became the most powerful in the entire world (Wikipedia, ''The Royal Navy). After constant fighting with the Dutch during the first, second and third Anglo-Dutch Wars, the English Navy had neither become a super power nor become an easy target. It wasn’t until the War of the Grand Alliance (1688-1697) that England came out on top of both Dutch and France navies. It was the beginning of English, and later British, supremacy (Rodger, Command, pp. 142-52). In the course of the 17th century, leading up to the revolution, the navy completed its transition from a queasy-amateur “Navy Royal” combination of private vessels into a fully fleshed out professional institution: a Royal Navy. Its funding was eventually stabilized, it started to use purpose-built warships only, and it created a complete officer corps with a distinct career structure (Wikipedia, The Royal Navy). Leading upto the revolution When the Kingdom of Great Britain was created in 1707 by the Acts of Union, the Royal Navy was officially born once the Royal Scots Navy (consisting of only three ships) was merged with that of the Royal Navy of England. Thus began the Royal Navy’s “golden age,” when it was the largest in the world. To start off the new Royal Navy, it fought alongside with the Dutch against the navies of both France and Spain. Most of the missions that were in European waters were focused around getting a Mediterranean base, which helped spawn a long-lasting alliance with Portugal in 1703 and the acquisition of Gibraltar in 1704 and Minorca in 1708 (both of which were kept by Britain after the war had ended, and helped on supporting Britain’s Austrian Habsburg allies in capturing control of Spain and its dependencies from the Bourbons. Meanwhile, small French naval squads did a lot of damage to both English and Dutch commercial convoys during the early parts of the war. However, after the major victory of the Battle of Vigo Bay in 1720, further smaller victories, and even the scuttling of the entire French Mediterranean fleet and Toulon in 1707 practically removed any threats to the Navy for the remainder of the war. These victories allowed the Navy to also capture the French colonies in Newfoundland and Nova Scotia (Rodger, Command, pp. 164-80). Then there was further fighting with Spain during the War of the Quadruple Alliance, in which the Royal Navy helped stop a Spanish attempt to recapture Sicily and Sardinia from Austria and Savoy by defeating a Spanish fleet at Cape Passaro, and also again in an undeclared war in the 1720s where Spain tried to retake Gibraltar and Minorca. After a short time of relative peace, the Navy was deployed in the War of Jenkins’ Ear against Spain during 1739-1748. Most of the fighting was a repetitive amount of unsuccessful and costly raids on Spanish ports in the Caribbean. For example, in the Battle of Cartagena de Indias, the Royal Navy attacked the Spanish port city of Cartagena (in modern day Columbia) with a massive force of over 27,000 men sailing 135 transport ships escorted by 50 warships. The siege ended with huge losses for the British navy and army (Wikipedia, The Royal Navy). Meanwhile in 1742, in a separate “battle” against the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, a small squadron of the British navy threatened to bombard their capitol city Naples, and the entire country was forced to withdraw from the war. Two years later, the war was incorporated into the larger War of the Austrian Succession (1744-1748), which once again put the Royal Navy against the French navy. Even so, the resulting naval battles, which for the first time ever included major operations in the Indian Ocean, were repeatedly inconclusive. The most significant naval event ended up being a failed French invasion of England in 1744 (Rodger, Command, ''pp. 234-56). In the subsequent Seven Years War during 1756-1763, the Royal Navy conducted multiple amphibious assaults leading to the conquest of French Canada, as well as French colonies in the Caribbean, West Africa, and some small islands off the French coast. It also took part in traditional naval operations in the Indain Ocean, which helped the eventual destruction of all French power in India (Rodger, ''Command, ''pp. 263-79). Finally, in a new French attempt to invade Britain, the Royal Navy again defeated the French in the extraordinary Battle of Quiberon Bay in 1759. Considered one of the Navy’s greatest victories, the French fleet was destroyed during a terrible storm on a dangerous lee shore (wind is blowing vessels towards the land). Again, the French were nearly removed entirely from the war in the naval aspect of it (Rodger, C''ommand, pp. 277-83). '' The American Revolution Now, based on the previous history, one would expect that the Royal Navy would be easily a large part of the British’s plan of putting down the rebellion, right? That they would use their far superior warships to raid ports, and even level entire cities with their might? Wrong. For the first time since 1690, the Royal Navy was out-played, and that’s the important part. The Royal Navy was by far the most successful navy of its era, with all the latest and greatest technologies and weapons, most of which Britain created itself. The Navy failed in its mission, which was to secure a supply line from Britain to its soldiers in America and cut off the colonies from foreign support. While the Navy easily obliterated the colony’s “Continental Navy” made of frigates, it was the weak link in the rest of the war, again, despite being the world’s best for 85 years running (Rodgers, ''Command). After the continental navy had been destroyed, the Royal Navy from that point onward had to face French, Spanish, and Netherlands ships. In the following battles, no clear victor was decided from the battles. The Battle of Chesapeake Bay Then, in the most important operation the Royal Navy was issued, it failed again. In 1781, when General Cornwallis was surrounded at all sides, only the Navy could have possibly saved him from disaster. The Navy’s mission was to break the French blockade around the Chesapeake Bay. In the resulting battle, 19 British ships of the line faced off against the French’s 24. While only the forward and center groups exchanged any fire, the result of the battle was also tactically inconclusive, but ultimately ended the war right then and there. Once the battle was over, the British Admiral Sir Thomas Graves never attacked again. Instead he sailed around within view of the French for a few days, until eventually he left for New York to build a bigger force (Wikipedia, The Royal Navy). Graves’s tactics during the battle have been debated greatly, even immediately afterwards by the admiral himself. Some say that, had Graves not been the admiral, the battle would have been won for the British.That single battle sealed the fate of the entire colonies, and it was a failure by the Royal Navy too. As Russell Weigley said, “''The Battle of the Chesapeake was a tactical victory for the French by no clear-cut margin, but it was a strategic victory for the French and Americans that sealed the principal outcome of the war.'' Conclusion The Royal Navy's failure to break the French blockade was felt across the entire world, as the Revolution was decidedly ended then and there. Had the British successfully gotten through the blockade, perhaps the whole revolution could have been stopped. While, of course, there is some descrepancy to whether or not the British could actually turn the tabels this late into the war, but the more important thing is that Chesapeake was Britain's final chance, the Royal Navy the final push. This one battle decided the fate of the war (or at least the British), and when everything hinged upon the Royal Navy, it didn't come through. References * Donnithorne, Christopher. "Conventions." Naval Biographical Database. CHD, 1998. Web. 30 Oct. 2013. . *Farr., James R. World Eras. Farmington Hills: Gale, 2003. Print. * A picture of a doctor's diary aboard the HMS Arab. Joan-Druett.blogspot. Blogger, n.d. Web. 30 Oct. 2013. . * Rodger, N. A. M. The Command of the Ocean. New York City: W. W. Norton & Company, 2005. Print. - - -. The Safeguard of the Sea. New York City: W. W. Norton & Company, 1998. Print. *"The Royal Navy." Britannica Encyclopedia. N.p.: n.p., n.d. N. pag. Britannica School. Web. 23 Oct. 2013. . * "The Royal Navy." Wikipedia. Wikipedia. Web. 23 Oct. 2013. . * "A Ship of War, of the Third Rate, with Rigging at Anchor." Wikipedia. Wikipedia, n.d. Web. 30 Oct. 2013. . * Weigley, Russel. "Battle of the Chesapeake." Princeton. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Oct. 2013. . Crucial point Category:References